V. Research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

INTRODUCTION

From the outset, it should be said that Indigenous Australians are not 'a unitary people, or a nation with a unitary culture or way of life: "Australian Aboriginal" is an umbrella term covering very deep and wide differences.' [1]

This means that Australian Indigenous people live in many different ways in many different places. More than 70%, for example, live in urban contexts, but the ways in which different groups and individuals live in cities varies according to where the people concerned originally came from, their relationships with each other, their relationships with the wider Australian society, and how they relate to the city as 'home'.

For example, some Indigenous people living in the city live as suburban neighbours, participating in everyday life in ways which are indistinguishable from any other Australian citizen. Others, on the other hand, live as fringe dwellers, alienated and marginalised from the benefits and responsibilities of other Australians. Still others participate in most aspects of Australian social life, but also engage in a diverse range of specifically Indigenous cultural practices including ceremonies, creating Indigenous art works, and performing dances and songs which represent their Aboriginal identity.